Left,‘Wallflowers’bed
lineninspiredbythe
Grandmother’sFlower
Gardendesign
Above,Emmaworkingon
oneofherhandstitched
quiltsin hercosyspot,with
a watchfulfriendin the
armchairbehind
Inset,A classicEmma
Bridgewaterteapot
featuringtheRed& Blue
Tumbling B locks designJoin us at http://www.todaysquilter.com 47T
hisarticlehasbeengestatingfora long
time.Overtheyears,I’vebeenwriting
virtualPost-ItNotestomyselfaslittle
reminderstoexploremoreabouttheoverlap
betweenEmmaBridgewaterandtheworldof
quilting.I thinkit allbeganwhenI joinedseveral
monthlyquiltgroupsandweekendquiltingbees.
Atsomepointduringa dayof stitchingwith
thesefriends,wewouldrelinquishourworkand
clearthechaosof cuttingmats,bundlesof fabric,
andallmannerof haberdasheryfromthetableand
makewayforteaandcake.Onmanyoccasions,
thesearrivedservedona seaof polkadots,hearts,
beautifulzinnias,pansiesandwildflowers.It’sno
surprisethatthequilter’skitchenstashhasa place
forEmmaBridgewaterpottery,afterall,welove
patternandcolour.Weunderstandtheimportance
of preservingartisanskillsandthere’sthat
intangibleconnectiontoitemsthatarehandmade
thatwecanrelateto.Thatproximitytothehands
thatwentbeforeoursaswewrapourpalmsaround
a warmingcup of tea in a mug that’s been painted
byhand.
Yearslater,inMarch2017,I foundmyself
in the Emma Bridgewater Factory Shop inDESIGNER PROFILEl e m m a b r i d ge wat e r
Left,Wrapupwarm:Emmaandherdaughter,
Margaret,withthequiltshemadeherfeaturing
Emma’s signature personalised appliquéImages © Emma Bridgewater